A typical day for Ariana Golchin, MPAS, PA-C starts around 8 a.m. She checks for any urgent emails from colleagues or students before preparing for lectures. Golchin is on a mission to educate the future generation of medicine through engagement, mentorship and connection.
Golchin is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Idaho State University and has served as adjunct faculty at multiple academic institutions. She has also practiced in multiple specialties including acute crisis stabilization and substance abuse disorders, burn and reconstructive plastic surgery, general surgery, trauma surgery, wound care and inpatient internal medicine.
Golchin began her journey as a Certified PA at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shaped her perspective about medicine and patient care.
“Learning and adapting to the medical field already involves a huge learning curve, but no one can prepare you for what practicing in a global pandemic will entail,” said Golchin.
Although this experience pushed her physically and mentally, Golchin says it has been a rewarding experience.
“It has provided me with opportunities and patient encounters that have forever changed my life for the better.”
As a new PA educator, each day is different for Golchin. When she’s not teaching, she may be providing support and mentorship to students, engaged in research projects or PA community service engagements, or participating in clinical days to maintain her skillset and knowledge base as a PA. Golchin believes that to advance in the PA profession, PAs must remain flexible and adaptable.
Golchin sees herself as more than just a PA – she also serves as an advocate for patients in marginalized and under-resourced communities. Golchin self-identifies as an Iranian American woman of color within the LGBTQIA community who also speaks Spanish, and some of these intersections inform her interactions with the world, students and patients.
Golchin has been a Certified PA for three years. She believes that building patient trust and helping patients feel understood is important to delivering excellent patient care. She recalls an incoming trauma patient who didn’t speak English. Golchin was able to communicate with the patient, providing a sense of familiarity and comfort that was much needed during a fearful time.
To ensure that patients feel safe, understood and valued, collaboration on the health care team is key.
“Some of the most positive patient care experiences and outcomes occur when all members of the health care team, from PAs, to physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and more, were willing to proactively communicate together and welcome each other’s ideas with respect,” said Golchin.
